No. 12 Lady Buffs knock off Regis

Posted: Saturday, August 30, 2003

JOHN KALTEFLEITERjkaltefleiter@amarillonet.com

During the last three months, there's been plenty of uncertainty surrounding the West Texas A&M volleyball team, especially whether it would be able to overcome the loss of All-American middle blocker Jess Anne Fernandes.

If Friday's matches are any indication, replacing Fernandes might not be so daunting a task after all.

Lady Buff middle blockers Ambra Clark and Cynthia Carter combined to rack up 21 kills and seven total blocks to guide the No. 12 Lady Buffs to a 30-22, 30-28, 30-14 victory over Regis on Friday night at the 2003 First General Services Lady Buff Classic.

It was West Texas A&M's 200th victory at the WT Fieldhouse since 1989.

The Lady Buffs, who rode a 15-kill outing from Clark in their three-game win over Texas Lutheran earlier in the day, return to the court at noon today to face Adams State.

Then, West Texas A&M squares off against seventh-ranked Grand Valley State in the tournament finale, which begins at 8 p.m.

"We've been working on being quicker," said the 6-foot-1 Carter, who had nine kills and registered a .438 hitting percentage against the Rangers.

"We started off really slow and our blocks weren't sharp. But, we started recognizing their hitters a lot better as it went on. They were a little smaller on the outsides than we were, so it was difficult for them.

"We were moving faster and that's what it all came down to."

Regis head coach Frank Lavrisha, whose team lost to Grand Valley State in four games Friday afternoon despite an 18-kill performance by talented outside hitter Holly Yamada, said his team's erratic passing spoiled any chance for the Rangers' upset bid.

"It was just a matter of playing consistent ball," said Lavrisha, whose Rangers led 23-20 in game 2 before relinquishing five straight points due to attack errors.

"It's early and we need to minimize our mistakes. Part of that too is that WT put a lot of pressure on us. Their setter ran the middle really well. She attacked and kept our blockers off-guard."